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Take a listen to Teresa Tomeo and me. We chatted about the Faith and Our Lady of Fatima. You can tune in by clicking here and then scrolling to the 19.31 mark unless you want to start from the beginning of her show on Catholic Connection.

Enjoy!

There is still time to register for my pilgrimage to Fatima and Poland! Check it out! Receive 3 free Fatima books by registering soon!

I just love giving sneak peeks of my upcoming work and projects! Here is my new book cover for A Catholic Woman’s Book of Prayers below, as well as the image of the front and back cover. The cover was recently tweaked to be brighter and to include a line. You’ll see the endorsements on the back cover.

As an award-winning author, TV host of EWTN’s “Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms,” “Catholic Mom’s Cafe,” and “Feeding Your Family’s Soul,” mother of five and grandmother, Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle is well aware of the difficulties women face today as they balance all their responsibilities and struggle to find time for prayer.
This book will affirm women on their journey while celebrating the strength, dignity, and specific gifts of women in the context of the faith. Donna-Marie offers words of encouragement, as well as traditional and original prayers for women who are single, married, mothers, consecrated women, and single mothers, while straightforwardly addressing specific difficulties in women’s lives, with prayers for stress, complicated pregnancies, and walking through divorce. Words from Mother Teresa, St. John Paul II, saints and mystics enrich the text with inspiration.

The second part of the Lenten discussions that I had with Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R. is here below on EWTN’s Sunday Night Prime. The second part offers prayers and tips for families and all those journeying through Lent. It is focused on the teachings of St. John Paul II and Pope Francis. I hope that you enjoy it.

I was recently visiting with Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R on EWTN’s Sunday Night Prime. In our show, “Bringing Lent Home, Part One” we talked about the family, Lent, Mother Teresa, and St. Therese. In case you didn’t catch it, you can see it here at your leisure.

I am excited to announce my upcoming children’s chapter book Our Lady’s Messages to Three Shepherd Children and the World.

Here is the beautiful book cover with a short publisher description and a link below to pre-order this children’s chapter book which is scheduled to release in June!

In this warm retelling of the story of Our Lady of Fatima, award-win- ning author Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle unfolds vividly before the eyes of children the mysterious radiant holy Lady who suddenly appeared

to three peasant farm children in Portugal.
At a tumultuous time when the First World War was at its height and

Portuguese farm families were devastated by the horrors of the Great War, miraculous events mysteriously occurred in 2016 and again in 2017. By reading this beautifully-illustrated chapter book, children will walk in the footsteps of Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta and learn the important message Our Lady delivered to these little shepherd children and to the whole world.

Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle’s love for children and family shines through these pages. As one of America’s Fatima experts, she presents an entirely authentic book which reads like a page-turning novel to children ages seven to 107! At the end of each chapter, the book offers an oppor- tunity to pause and ponder the story and the reader’s own prayer life as well as encouragement to apply the messages to one’s own life. A section of Fatima prayers completes the book.

I hope you can tape it or watch at those times. It isn’t noted on the EWTN website, but one of the shows is about St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis. The other is noted, which is about Mother Teresa and St. Therese.

I have been working non-stop on a very important book project. It’s a children’s Fatima book! It’s has been an inspiration on my heart to write it and I feel blessed to do so to teach children and their families about the amazing messages of Our Lady of Fatima. This book will help them to learn and LIVE the messages. I am taking a short break from the book writing right now to write this blog post! Then, I will get right back to it and work hard to complete the writing and get it off to the publisher and out to be printed so that in the very near future you can have it in your own hands to read to yourself and also perhaps to a child you love. It is a book that is not only appropriate for this 100th anniversary year of Our Lady’s messages, but for beyond this year as well. As soon as I have a cover image I’ll be happy to reveal it to you.

As you might know my other Fatima book titled, Our Lady of Fatima: 100 Years of Stories, Prayers, and Devotions is due to be released in March! You can see it right here on Amazon. It has been ranked the Number One bestseller in the “New Releases of Christian Mariology” for quite some time. That tells me that people want to learn the message of Fatima! You can see it here at my website for pre-order. Each copy will be autographed and will come with a blessed Miraculous Medal.

My pilgrimage to Fatima and Poland is September 17th to the 27th and will be an exciting grace-filled trip for this 100th anniversary year! Fatima expert Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R will be the spiritual guide for the trip. There is information here.

On another note, I will be on EWTN’s Sunday Night Prime soon on March 5th (with a couple of re-airs). I’ll be away that week end on a speaking trip in Lafayette, LA, so you will see it before me. 🙂

We are speaking about my Lenten books and the Lenten season within the family. Here is the information:

I was recently blessed to visit Jim and Joy Pinto at the EWTN studio in Alabama. In case you missed the airing of our show it is here to watch at your leisure. We discussed families, family dinners, teaching the faith, and much more. I hope that you can watch.

My Prayerfully Hoping & Expecting Novena Bracelet is on EWTN’s Religious Catalogue. I designed a Pro-Life “Bracelet For Life” exclusively for EWTN. You can learn about it and view the video right here. Just push the little marker to the 4:43 minute mark. It airs from the 4:43 mark to 7:31. Johnnette Benkovic displays the bracelet I designed for EWTN.

Motherhood with all its unending joy is a vocation filled with a myriad of challenges. In addition to the arduous continual work in raising children today amidst the chaotic demeaning culture, there are other difficulties mothers face too. Immersed in a sometimes thankless role, mothers can feel isolated or invisible, they can doubt themselves or feel tempted to strive for other pursuits in an effort to feel affirmed or appreciated.

After all, when was the last time a mother was sincerely (and I mean, “sincerely”) thanked for her selfless and continual loving work and efforts in her family and home? Yes, it happens occasionally. However, our society does not value a mother’s work. Unfortunately, we mothers are valued by the size of a pay check and not the fact that we are actually raising little saints to heaven. We are, in fact, helping to form the consciences of little ones who are on loan to us and who have been entrusted to our care.

Because I am a mother of five (and three in heaven) and a grandmother, I value every aspect of the amazing role of motherhood—a vocation of love! During some of the time that I raised my children, I was a single mother. I have lived through thick and thin, and a lot of times it was very thin. So, I certainly know that mothers need encouragement and affirmation in their amazing yet arduous role. I feel very passionate about encouraging mothers everywhere and that’s why I do what I do. That’s why I write so many books and do a good deal of television shows to uplift and affirm the family—the vital cell of society, which, as we know is under attack by the evil one. I won’t dwell on “you-know-who” (I don’t like to give him credit because he thrives on that). But, it’s important to acknowledge the fact that we are engaged in spiritual battle so that we can be alert, continue praying, nourish our souls with solid Church teaching, and put one foot in front of the other to walk in faith every day in raising our families.

Recently, a faithful mother of many children came to me because she was feeling like a failure. I’ll call her Cindy. She said, “Do you have any tips you can share with me about how to get more done in a day? I am not as productive as I have been in the past in our schooling and it is making me feel like a failure. You are so productive so I thought I’d ask if you could give me some advice.”

I asked “Cindy” not to feel like a failure because she certainly wasn’t a failure. I told her that she should try to keep her chin up because God was smiling at her and that I hoped she could try not to be discouraged. I told her that “you-know-who” would like her and other mothers to feel that they are failures when, in fact, they are doing an amazing job in raising their children. I went on to give her a few tips that I thought might help her to feel more productive (since she asked for that), but certainly knew that many times a mother’s very important tasks are the ones that are quiet and may go unseen as she helps take care of her children’s zillion needs.

Give God the reins

“What comes to my mind right now,” I said, “is to get important things done first thing in the morning if you can. For instance, certain prayers you want to get going in the morning so that you don’t lament at the end of the day that you didn’t carve out that time for prayer. It’s challenging in a busy household. I do know that,” I reminded her. “But start your day with that Morning Offering prayer before you even get out of your bed, or right when you get out of your bed, on your knees by the side of your bed. Then you’ve given the reins to our Lord so to speak. You’ve given him the day ahead of you. Then you could be at peace knowing that He’s in control.”

O Jesus,
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You my prayers, works,
joys and sufferings
of this day for all the intentions
of Your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world,
in reparation for my sins,
for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,
and in particular
for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Amen.

“And perhaps,” I continued, “the night before, you can possibly think about a project you’d like to get done in the house the next day. A certain corner of the house, a messy countertop you need to declutter, a pile of laundry that needs to get washed, whatever it is, try to tackle that first thing in the morning.”

Adding a bit more, I said, “Sometimes, and I know this might sound crazy, but sometimes I clean a bathroom before I even come downstairs to eat breakfast. I know we need to eat in the morning to nourish ourselves, but sometimes I see a mess and think that I should probably tackle it quickly so I don’t have to face it later in the day and also, in case I run out of time later in the day. Granted, you have little ones waiting for you, and maybe this won’t work for you, but I think that lots of tasks can be done quickly.”

I went on to tell “Cindy” how I’ve tried to make a game out of cleaning up to get the kids’ help, and more. “I have always tried to teach the kids that certain things needed to be done and then we can do the fun stuff.”

I didn’t want her to feel defeated. “It’s important not to beat yourself up if you can’t get things done,” I said. “You are busy enough taking care of the physical and emotional needs of your children. That in itself is a full-time job. Add to that, all of the cleaning and all of the schooling and your own hygiene in care of yourself, there’s just always so much to do.”

I wanted to also mention a tip on family prayer. “Then, of course, you want to carve out times for family prayer. That’s why I always say to do it at the dinner table. At least that’s one time for your family prayer because everyone’s all together, hopefully, and you have a captive audience.”

I told this beautiful Mom that I would recommend that she watch a You Tube video of my visit with Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR. in which we discuss my book Feeding Your Family’s Soul: Dinner Table Spirituality because she had watched it a couple of months earlier and told me that it helped her in her resolve to homeschool her family. There had been some temptations to throw in the towel, but she felt in her heart that Our Lord wanted her to keep it up despite the lack of encouragement around her. I thought that if she watched the show again it might give her a good “shot in the arm.”

All those “little” things

She thanked me and said she’d watch the video soon. Then she responded to my little “tips.” She said, “That helps me SO much! You always have the right words. In fact, I did that this morning. Before breakfast, I mopped and swept and cleaned bathrooms and put on laundry.” She continued giving me a blow by blow description.

“Then I schooled while nursing, but I just can’t help but feel like I should do more and better. But I think that might be a trap. A temptation. I have been forgetting my daily offering. I will try to do that. But, I have been working in the rosary. I am potty training my toddler, keeping my preschooler engaged, holding the nursing new one, dealing with high emotions of our teenager and helping school the other two. So, I guess even when it doesn’t feel like I’m doing a lot, I am. I just want them to be able to have a quality education and I doubt how effective I am.” Then she sighed.

Wow! This is what I’m talking about. Moms do SO much! And because Moms are often tired and overworked, they can easily lose sight of all that they actually do and also the fact that all that they do is SO important!

“Cindy” went on to tell me that she would re-watch the video. Her baby was sleeping in her arms and she had an opportunity to watch it, or at least in bits and pieces.

“Now that you reminded me,” she said, “it [watching the video] did recommit my determination for homeschooling. I remember now. It made me feel like I am making a good decision. Two of my closest friends that have been stay at home, homeschooling mothers are throwing in the towel and going to work. It just placed doubt in my mind….So I started to doubt my ability. I’m not teaching Latin or Spanish. But, I keep telling myself that if they need that, the Good Lord will provide. I also have to take lots of breaks because I wear out quickly since I’m not sleeping well at night.”

This sweet Mom is doing so much to please the Lord and raise her little saints to heaven. She, like so many others need our encouragement.

“Thank you for talking with me…Thank you for encouraging me, again!” She said.

I reiterated how much good that “Cindy” was doing for her family. “It’s quite amazing what you are doing…You don’t give yourself enough credit. And I did forget to mention too, that a lot of the work that we mothers do in the home can’t be measured because it’s all those little things which are so important to our children’s well-being.”

We don’t need esteem, honors, or even a paycheck

I wanted to encourage her more… “I would like to tell you to please keep doing what you’re doing. It’s very admirable even though you don’t realize it. You are doing exactly what our good Lord wants you to do. You are there for your family in so many ways…Please hang in there and please realize if you can, that you are doing an amazing job helping to form little consciences and raise up little saints to heaven!”

She told me, “You always make me feel so much better! You are a voice of truth dispelling the lies that come at me…It strengthens me to read your words and speak to you and know that you see value in my walk. That is your gift, encouraging mothers who I believe can get so easily discouraged because there isn’t a paycheck this side of heaven.”

I wholeheartedly agree with ”Cindy.” There isn’t a “paycheck” for our work this side of heaven. But, we don’t need that. We do need to strive to hold our heads up high and continue mothering our children, being a bright example to all in our midst, some who are struggling to find peace in their hearts. I’m so proud of this Mom. She is an amazing and faithful example to her family and all those that know her and see her example.

We can look to the Blessed Mother for guidance and intercession in our tiring yet profound vocation. We can also look to the inspiration of the saints.

Right after our conversation, this faithful Mom came across a quote from St. Alphonsus Liguori that really spoke to her heart:

A hidden and obscure life affords great security to those who sincerely desire to love God. Our Divine Master Himself deigned to teach us this by His own example, for He spent thirty years in the obscurity of Nazareth and the workshop of a humble carpenter. In imitation of their Divine Model, many saints withdrew into the desert and lived in remote caves to escape the esteem of men. The desire to put ourselves forward and merit the plaudits of men, to be regarded as very successful in our undertakings, is, according to St. Vincent de Paul, and evil that causes us to forget our God; it vitiates our holiest actions and more than anything else impedes our progress in the spiritual life. To be pleasing and acceptable in the sight of God, we must therefore banish from our hearts the desire to appear before men to win their approval and applause and especially the desire to rule over others.

Many times mothers are a bit isolated in the care of their families and other times they are out and about in the community with their brood. While we mothers might not be choosing to hide out from the community in our “domestic churches” to “escape the esteem of men,” we certainly can come to discover within our sometimes hidden role, that with the exception of Our Lord, we do not need the esteem of anyone in order to be committed in living out our beautiful vocation of motherhood.

St. Teresa of Calcutta, someone I still call Mother Teresa because I was blessed to know her personally and felt that she was a special mother to me, spoke about the hidden life in the family too. She once told me:

Fidelity to growing into a soul of prayer is the beginning of great holiness. If we remember ‘what we do to Jesus—that we do to each other,’ we would be real contemplatives in the heart of the world. Let us learn to pray and work as Jesus did for 30 years in Nazareth. The life and work; the prayer and sacrifice at Nazareth are so much like what our life should be. That peace, joy and unity that joined the Holy Family together in prayer and work is such a wonderful living example to us. They grew in holiness together. Let us learn from Mary to pray and ask Her to pray that your home will be another Nazareth.

This might sound funny, but after coming out of a convent bathroom one time, Mother Teresa told her Sisters, “Someone here really loves Our Lord. That bathroom is sparkling clean!” She was implying that the Sister who cleaned it did it for the love of God. It’s the same for all of us in life. We should do everything to the best of our ability to honor and please God. She also reminded us that we shouldn’t shy away from the humble work. Her sentiments and teachings give us much to think about.

We mothers come to discover that it is not about how much we can get done in a day that matters. A mother’s love and care can never be accurately measured. There will be plenty of times when we need to overlook the messy kitchen counters and overflowing laundry hampers because we are needed to console a child, to discipline another, to nurse the baby, to break up a squabble, to teach the others, and so much more.

I can’t help but think of some very wise words from Archbishop Fulton Sheen who said, “We always make the fatal mistake of thinking that it is what we do that matters when really what matters is what we let God do to us.” Let us not shy away from the humble work or the feelings of being “invisible” at times to bring about amazing transformations of hearts and souls because of God’s abiding grace, and through our selfless, yet powerful vocation of love.

I am excited to share that Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR and I will be leading a pilgrimage to Fatima, Portugal for the 100 Anniversary year! We will also be going to Poland in the footsteps of St. Faustina and St. John Paul II during the same pilgrimage!

The pilgrimage is 11 days long from September 17th to the 27th, 2017. The folks who register by March 24, 2017 will receive a gift of both Fr. Andrew’s Fatima book (Fatima For Today) and my upcoming Fatima book (Our Lady of Fatima: 100 Years of Stories, Prayers, and Devotions)!

Sometime in May of 2017 the second edition of my book “A Catholic Woman’s Book of Prayers” will be released.

I’m giving you a sneak peek of the sweet cover image.

Here’s the publisher’s description:

As an award-winning author, TV host of EWTN’s “Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms,” “Catholic Mom’s Cafe,” and “Feeding Your Family’s Soul,” mother of five and grandmother, Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle is well aware of the difficulties women face today as they balance all their responsibilities and struggle to find time for prayer.

This book will affirm women on their journey while celebrating the strength, dignity, and specific gifts of women in the context of the faith. Donna-Marie offers words of encouragement for women who are single, married, mothers, consecrated women, and single mothers, while straightforwardly addressing specific difficulties in women’s lives, with prayers for stress, complicated pregnancies, and walking through divorce. Words from Mother Teresa, St. John Paul II, saints and mystics enrich the text with inspiration.

You can see my visit talking about family, faith, and food and my book “Feeding Your Family’s Soul” with the wonderful Doug Keck on EWTN’s Bookmark show. I come in at about the 13:40 marker. You can slide the marker forward to that point and watch until the end. Or, if you have time, by all means, watch the whole show. 🙂 Prior to my visit is author Lisa Hendey who is the founder of Catholic Mom.com.

EDITED TO NOTE: I am sorry but the You Tube video has now been taken down. I believe that EWTN would like to put it out again in January when the show will air on EWTN TV.

I’ve never written a blog post like this before. But, why not? Moms have bragging rights. 🙂 I’d like to share a bit about my oldest daughter Chaldea. If you’ve read any of my books, you might recall that she was the teen ager who gifted me with that special secret gift on my late November birthday many years ago. It was the note in the envelope she left on my dresser. Remember that? She had placed inside her own babysitting money which she gifted to me to help with Christmas presents. I was a single mother at that time and I was moved so much by her big heart.

I’d like to pass along a link to my daughter’s Etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/people/chaldea My daughter Chaldea (aged 35) is an artist and has illustrated 3 of my books (The Heart of Motherhood, The cover of The Domestic Church, and all of the sweet baby illustrations in Prayerfully Expecting).

Chaldea’s work is very wholesome and family oriented. She is also an organic farmer with her feet firmly planted on the ground! In addition, she has a sweet and whimsical book she wrote and illustrated called “Farm House.”

Please pass along her Etsy website address to anyone you know who might be interested in ordering her artwork. Her greeting cards are amazing, if I may say so myself. Supporting her in her vocation of art helps to keep her at home with her one and a half year old son, Shepherd, my sweet grandson.

I know I am bragging (but that’s what Moms do!). While I am at it, I want to also mention that Chaldea is multi-talented. She is not only a sweet wife and mother, she plays many musical instruments, knits, farms, paints, illustrates, and works in many forms of art.

Take a look at her art here: https://www.etsy.com/people/chaldea She also sells her art at many week end festivals. She is known for her whimsical characters in her paintings and greeting cards.

Thanks for letting me share about my daughter. 🙂 I will also link her website to this website and my other one.

I want to encourage families to collect family recipes and to cook together and spend time together in the heart of the home. I want families to reach out to older relatives to keep family traditions alive.

You might know that I recently developed a new TV series for EWTN titled, “Feeding Your Family’s Soul.” I’ll keep you posted on that but I think you’ll see that in January 2017.

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Donna-Marie’s Memoir!

"Absolutely riveting. I couldn't put it down. It isn't what I expected...should be made into a movie." ~Amazon review"Allows us to enter into her heart, and accompany her on a remarkable spiritual journey."~Brian Patrick, Anchor, EWTNNews Nightly

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About Donna-Marie

Donna-Marie is an award winning and best-selling journalist and author of two dozen books. She is a national speaker, and the EWTN television host of Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms, Catholic Mom’s Cafe and Feeding Your Family’s Soul. Her work and ministry are centered on the family. She was invited by the Holy See to participate in a Vatican International Congress for women and was blessed to know St. Mother Teresa for ten years. She weaves Mother’s wisdom into all of her work. Mother Teresa wrote a foreword for one of Donna-Marie’s books and has encouraged her to continue to write for mothers and families. Fr. John Hardon, S.J. was Donna-Marie’s spiritual director. Donna-Marie is the recipient of apostolic blessings from St. John Paul II for her work on Mother Teresa. She has received numerous awards for her work from the Catholic Press Association, the MCCW for her presentation to military women and the American Cancer Society Media for her columns on coping with the disease. Donna-Marie’s books are helping to transform and inspire the lives of countless readers.

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